On this edition of The Narrow Path, Steve Gregg explores the practical and spiritual implications of Matthew 6:33—what it really means to “seek first the kingdom of God.” From daily life choices to evangelism, giving, obedience, and spiritual gifting, Steve unpacks how believers can live out their kingdom calling in every sphere of life. The episode also tackles challenging questions from listeners on topics including Israel’s status as God’s chosen people, the parable of the wheat and tares, biblical creation, Psalm 35’s poetic language, and whether Peter is the “rock” Jesus builds his church upon. It’s a rich, scripture-heavy
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 07 :
Good afternoon and welcome to the Narrow Path radio broadcast this Friday afternoon. We are on Monday through Friday each week with an open phone line so that you can call in if you have questions about the Bible, about the Christian faith, Christian apologetics, Christian history, Christian ethics, the Christian life. You get to see what the common denominator here is. It’s Christian stuff. But you don’t have to be a Christian. to call in. You can actually be one who rejects Christianity, has a challenge about Christianity. And I’d be glad to talk to you as well. Right now I’m looking at a switchboard that’s only about half full. So if you’d like to call, you can get through immediately. If you call 844-484-5737. And by the way, if you’re a new listener, You may not realize that that’s not always the case. In fact, most times the lines are pretty full. This is a good opportunity for you to get through if you want to talk and ask a question today or to correct the host about something. Feel free. The number, again, is 844-484-5737. And our first caller today is Jimmy from Jamesport or Jimmy’s Port, Missouri. Hi, Jimmy. Welcome.
SPEAKER 05 :
I see. So in Matthew 6, 33, we read that our first and most important pursuit in life is to seek first the kingdom of God. My question is, for the person who understands that that should be their first pursuit or highest priority, but they wonder, what does that mean practically? How do I do that? That’s my question. Sure.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, yeah, I’ll be glad to answer. That’s a good question. If we’re supposed to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness so that all these things will be added to us as Christ promises, what does that mean to seek the kingdom of God? Now, seeking refers to your pursuit in life. It’s the thing that you’re endeavoring to realize in your life, your purpose in life. And as Christians, we are to have our purpose realized. to be agents of, in the promotion of, and participants in the kingdom of God. Of course, many Christians have no idea what the kingdom of God is, which is, by the way, why I actually wrote a couple books on that subject called Empire of the Risen Son, books one and two. They’re both about what the kingdom of God is and what it means to seek it and to pursue it. But the kingdom of God refers to the movement that Jesus began with himself at the head. God has made him king. God has given him all authority in heaven and on earth, which means he’s the ruler over everything. And the message of the kingdom is that Jesus is the Lord, Jesus is the king, and that all men are now obliged to follow him. Now, following him means not only to you know, get baptized and become a churchgoer. It means to be a follower of Jesus, be a disciple of Jesus, to obey him, in other words, to follow his example, to multiply his efforts on the earth. through the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ that’s given to those who are his followers. So to seek the kingdom would be to basically continue the work of Christ in the earth, the spreading of his kingdom, our participation in the kingdom and so forth, as our first priority. And so what does that look like? Well, a number of things. We could start out with of course, our prayers. Jesus, when he taught us to pray, in the same chapter that you were quoting from, Matthew 6, but in verse 10, our prayer is to be, your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Now, God’s kingdom coming is equated with his will being done on earth as it is in heaven. Now, some people think that just means praying for Jesus to come back and subdue the world forcibly. But actually, if he wanted to do that, he could have done that a long time ago, like hundreds of years ago. But his plan is to subdue people voluntarily. That is to win them over, to persuade them, to repent, to become loyal to him. Jesus could come, even as he could have called, just before he was crucified, he could have called 12 legions of angels to come and destroy his enemies. And that would have settled things really quickly. But he could do the same thing. He could send 12 legions of angels to wipe out his enemies voluntarily. But that’s not what he wants. If he wanted to wipe out his enemies, he might as well not have come and died. He came and died so his enemies could become his friends, so his enemies could become saved. They could become, like himself, loyal to his father and loyal to him. So this is the message to the world, that there’s another king, one Jesus, and we are all saved. God called upon to submit to him, to surrender to him, to stop fighting against him, to acknowledge him and embrace him as king and lord of our lives. That’s the message. Now, that obviously, if I’m going to pursue that, it means I must do that in my own life. First, I must surrender to him. I must make sure that what I’m living for is for his purposes. Because if your kingdom come is equated with your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven, then I’m asking that God’s will should be done on earth. But the one person I have the most power over to make sure that his will is done in their life is me. And so, you know, for me to be obedient to him, for me to obey Christ’s words, to be like him, to be a representative, a fit representative, like an ambassador of his kingdom to this world. And then, of course, my ambassadorship involves reaching out to people who don’t know about his position, don’t know who he is, don’t know what he’s asking to be done. That’s why Jesus said, after he said in Matthew 28, 18, that all authority… in heaven and earth had been given to him, he said, go and make disciples out of all nations. And part of that, he said, was to teach them to observe everything that I’ve commanded you. So I need to learn everything that he’s commanded, make sure I’m observing it. Then I need to be going about teaching others to observe it. Now, not everyone who’s involved in this project is going to do exactly the same thing. Some people are evangelists, Paul said. Some are apostles. Some are prophets. Some are pastors. Some are teachers. And some are none of those things. But they’re still in the kingdom. Because there’s many, many gifts. Some of the gifts that Paul lists in Romans 12 are a gift of helping. The gift of showing mercy. The gift of encouraging. The gift of leading. The gift of giving. These are, everybody has some kind of gift. And most people have one of those. And so the point being that each of these is a gift that God gives to different members of Christ’s body to do the work of the body, to do the work of Christ on the earth. Just like my hands and my feet are doing my work on the earth. Well, I mean, hopefully they’re doing God’s work, but the point is, They’re doing my role in it, not somebody else’s role in it. So Christ’s hands and feet and members of his body are together working to bring out his purposes in the world. And that’s whether you work at a job or you’re raising kids at home. or you’re retired and you’ve got time to go out and do good works of some kind that enhance other people’s lives and make Christ known to them in your example and your words to them. I mean, there’s so many ways. If you’re in school, to be a witness to him there, to do well, to do excellently at anything you do so that you’re doing it for the glory of God. Paul said, whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God. He said in 1 Corinthians 10, I think it’s verse 31, it might be verse 30. But the point is that whatever you do is to be for the glory of God. Because that’s how we pursue his kingdom for ourselves and for the world. You see, our purpose is not just to desire to be in his kingdom. you know, like maybe when I die, go to heaven and be in his kingdom then. No, the pursuit of the kingdom is the embracing of the kingdom agenda, which is the purpose of human existence. The human existence is to bring people back to the king, back into proper relation with God. And that proper relation means obedience to him, surrender to him, loyalty to him. Anyone who’s not doing those things is not in a right relation with God. They’re still a rebel against God. So, Christ’s statement to seek the kingdom of God is a holistic thing. I seek it in my prayers. I seek it in my use of my time. I seek it in the influence I can have through speaking to people or whatever. Maybe in my giving, in my stewardship of the funds I have. I seek God’s ends in the way I give. So, in other words, seeking the kingdom of God isn’t just one kind of activity, particularly some kind of religious activity. That’s never stated to be what the pursuit of God’s kingdom looks like. The pursuit of God’s kingdom means that you’re seeking to establish his will on earth as it is in heaven. Now, not necessarily that we think we’re going to succeed in this life, but we want to take as much ground from the enemy as we can because the enemy is the default ruler over those who don’t know that Jesus is the real king. And so there’s a kingdom of Satan. and there’s kingdom of Christ, and they are both operating in this world, and they’re in competition with each other. And when you come into Christ, the Bible says in Colossians 1.13 that God translates you out of the power of darkness, that is out of Satan’s kingdom, and transfers you into the kingdom of his son. So you switch loyalties. You come out of the devil’s kingdom and into Christ’s kingdom, and therefore the battle on the side of righteousness and Christ is enhanced by the addition of a new recruit, and Satan’s kingdom is diminished by one. And that’s what we’re hoping to multiply throughout the world, not only ourselves, but as many as we can, bring them over to Christ, because that’s what we’re here for, and to teach them to observe all that he commanded. The Bible indicates that this will ultimately result in justice in the world. Jesus’ ministry is described here. In Isaiah 42, verses 1 through 4, which three times says that he will establish justice in the earth. He will establish justice among the Gentiles. And this is, of course, what has been the trajectory. of the church’s influence in the past 2,000 years. The world has much more conscience for justice in those parts that have been influenced by Christianity than it did before. And this is still supposed to be going on. If we’ve lived our lives well, we should have had a net impact on the world for good. It should be that when we die, there should be some people who have benefited and been brought closer to God and who have been relieved of many of their burdens, because the law of Christ is that we bear one another’s burdens. There’s a lot to it. Seeking the kingdom means that this is your whole project, this is your whole reason for living, is you’re pursuing God’s ends, which are to see his kingdom expand. Jesus said it’s like a little seed that grows into a great tree, or Daniel said it’s like a little stone that grows into a great mountain to fill the earth. Well, how does it grow? It grows by the efforts of Christ’s people, Christ’s body in the earth, spreading his gospel, which calls people to loyalty to the king. And his kingdom grows at the expense of the devil’s kingdom. That’s what we’re involved in. As far as what it looks like in your life, I can’t say because I don’t know what your calling is. I don’t know what your gifts are. It may be that you’re like most Christians. working at a regular job. That’s the calling that God has on those people, apparently. And so you’d represent Christ’s interest there. You’d speak for him. You’d live for him. The money you earn, you would steward for him. And, you know, if you’re in any other calling than that, then, of course, whatever you have, money, time, skills, are also applied to the interest of his kingdom. And so that’s what I understand it to mean to seek the kingdom of God. I appreciate your call. I had to turn your phone off because there’s a lot of background noise, but I hope that helps. Eddie from Kentucky. Welcome to The Narrow Path. Thanks for calling.
SPEAKER 01 :
Hi, Steve. I’ve got a quick question for you. My question is concerning Israel, whether or whether or not they’re God’s chosen people. Well, when… Let me get you reading a couple of persons, then I’ll ask you my question.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 01 :
Okay. Genesis chapter 17, I think it’s verse 7 and 8. Could you read that for me, and then we’ll discuss it.
SPEAKER 07 :
Genesis 17, you say?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, 7 and 8.
SPEAKER 07 :
Verse 7 and 8. Let me turn there. Hang on. Are you driving or something?
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, I’m driving.
SPEAKER 07 :
I see. Well, then I’ll look it up for you. It says, God says to Abraham, and this is at the time that God promised that Isaac would be born. And God changed his name from Abram to Abraham at the same time and gave him the command of circumcision for the first time. He says, I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant. to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also, I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.
SPEAKER 01 :
Okay. The question is, I really want to get on your side. I know what your outlook on it is. especially with all this nonsense in the Middle East between Iran and Israel. But this is what trips me is when he talks and when he says, and he uses it as the plural. He don’t say seed. You know, seed could be singular or plural. But he said he will be their God. Now, being as I’m driving, I’d appreciate if you’d let me get off and then I’ll listen to what you say on the air. Oh, okay. Okay.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, thanks. I’ll address that. Yeah, what you’re referring to is the fact that when it says, in our New King James, it says, your descendants, plural. Actually, in the Hebrew, the word is seed, which can be singular or plural. Now, Paul, in Galatians 3.16, refers to… This and other promises like it, because the same promises made several places in the Old Testament. But Paul says the promises were made to Abraham and to his seed, which is actually the word used here in the Hebrew. Now, the new King James has made it plural, which it is possible for it to be plural. But Paul says, but the promises really to his seed singular. Now, he’s not saying that the word seed never had a plural application. What is the case is that Abraham is promised that through his seed, all the nations of the world will be blessed. And his seed would also have the land, which was at that time the land of Canaan. Now, who are his seed? Well, if we say, well, the people that were born from his body, that’d be his seed. Well, if God meant that, then we’d have to assume that Ishmael, which are the Arabs, as well as Isaac are his seed, because both of them were equally born from Abraham’s body. But we know that that isn’t the case. Ishmael was passed over for the promise and is given to Isaac instead. But both of them are physical descendants of Abraham. So we can see that Abraham’s seed cannot refer to every person that ever came from there, or else all the Ishmaelites would be included in that. Now, we might say, well, it’s the ones descended from Abraham and Isaac. Well, wait a minute. Esau and Jacob were both descended from Isaac. And so that would make the Edomites in this deal, too. Now, what we’re seeing is that although God made a promise to Abram’s seed, he didn’t mean everybody who ever is born from your lineage. Because after all, God told him, I’ll make you the father of many nations. And there are very many nations in the Middle East, at least the ancient world, that were descended from Abraham, including the Jews and the Arabs and the Midianites and the Edomites and so forth. So that’s a lot of nations, and they aren’t all Jews. So clearly nobody believes, at least I don’t think the Jews or Christians believe, nor I think do the Arabs believe. that every offspring of Abraham is a recipient of the promise that God made to Abraham. And that’s what Paul is saying. Now, Paul is saying it refers ultimately to one seed. Now, in the generation after Abraham, it was that one seed, Isaac. And then the next generation is that one seed, Jacob. Now, there were many after Jacob’s time, because he had 12 sons, and the 12 tribes that descended from them were Abraham’s seed. It’s singular and plural, but collectively singular and, you know, individually plural. But the nation of Israel that came from them was a type and a shadow of the one seed to whom the promises apply. And Paul says that very clearly in Galatians 3.16. He says, now, it was Abram and his seed, the promise made. And he says, he does not say seeds as of many. but to your seed, which is Christ. So what he’s saying is not everyone, not all the many seeds or all the many offspring that came from Abraham are recipients of the promises. And, of course, all Jews and Christians would agree with that. They agree that the Ishmaelites are not and the Edomites are not and the Midianites are not and all these other pagan groups are not, although many of them came from Abraham. but only some are. And Paul says it really comes down to those who are in the Messiah who are. Because he says in Galatians chapter 3, after he’s already made that statement I just quoted, as you get to the end of that chapter, he says, if you are Christ’s, that means if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. That is, the ones the promise will be inherited by are Abraham’s seed. That’s the promise was made to Abraham’s seed. He says, well, if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and you are the heirs according to his promise. And by the way, he’s writing to a primarily Gentile church. There were some Jews in the church, no doubt, but it was a Gentile region. These were mostly Gentile people. We know they weren’t, for the most part, they were not circumcised. So they were pagans. They were Gentiles before they were Christians. We know they weren’t circumcised because Paul was trying to persuade them not to be circumcised. as the Judaizers wanted to be, and he wouldn’t have to tell them that if they were already circumcised, because you only get circumcised once. So these were uncircumcised Gentiles, not Jews. And he says to them in Galatians 3.29, if you, the ones who are Christ’s, that’s Jews and Gentiles, If you are Christ, then you are your seed. So the seed is Christ and those who are in him. Now, just as God made a distinction in Abraham’s family between Ishmael and Isaac and between Jacob and Esau, he also made a distinction between, in Abraham’s family, those who are loyal to Christ and those who are not loyal to Christ. And so Paul says in Romans 9, 6, they are not all Israel who are of Israel. meaning not everybody who’s descended from Jacob, not everyone who belongs to one of the 12 tribes, in other words, is really Israel as far as God’s concerned. Now, the Jews think they are all Israel, and many Christians would say they’re all Israel, but Paul said no, not all of them are. And then a few verses later in Romans 9, 27, he says, it’s like what Isaiah said, though the children of Israel… are as numerous as the sand of the seashore, only the remnant will be saved. Only the remnant are the true Israel who are going to be saved. So the remnant are those who are in Christ, as Paul said. So, you know, in the Jewish race, there are people who are loyal to Messiah, and there are those who oppose the Messiah. Some of them killed him, and some accepted him. And this made the distinction that Paul’s referring to. The Jews who don’t receive Christ are rejecting their Messiah, and therefore they’re rejecting God, and therefore they’re rejecting the promises that God made that are to come through the Messiah. But on the other hand, there’s that remnant of Jews who do not reject the Messiah. They receive Christ. And they became, in the first century, what we call the Jewish church, the Jerusalem church. And eventually Gentiles were allowed to be part of that too. But the faithful remnant of Israel became the church in Jerusalem after Pentecost. And that being so, we know that we are like branches grafted into that same olive tree with them. So we’re all part of that Israel if we are in Christ. And that’s what Paul tells us here. So who are the chosen people? Well, the people who are in Christ, because Christ is chosen and we are chosen in him. We share in his chosenness by being in him. Now, when we say, are the Jews still God’s chosen people, I’d have to say chosen for what? If a selection is made in a crowd and you select some people out of that crowd, you obviously are selecting for something. You’re not just doing it just to have done it. You’re doing it because you’ve got something for them to do. Now, in the Old Testament, Israel was seen as chosen to bring the Messiah into the world, chosen to be the ones through whom All the nations of the earth will be blessed, and that would be the ones who bring the Messiah into the world, and the nations will be blessed through the gospel. So they were chosen for that, and that happened. God did bring the Messiah through the Jews. So he had chosen them for that, and what he chose them to do, They did, or we could more likely say he did through them because they resisted him most of the time, but he got it done anyway through them, through his chosen people who were chosen to bring the Messiah into the world. Now, we don’t know of any other assignments he’s given them. So if we say, are they still chosen, I’d say chosen for what? Chosen for what? There’s no other assignments for them that are mentioned in the Bible. They were to bring the Messiah into the world. They did. Mission accomplished. Now what? Well, now Jesus is the chosen one. And those who are in him are chosen. To do what? To continually bring this same gospel, to bring Christ to the nations. That’s the whole purpose of Abraham’s seed. And we are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise, according to Paul. So this is how the New Testament talks. When people are thinking of the Jews as, you know, what should I say, the chosen people, most people can’t give you a sensible answer. You say, well, you mean chosen for what? If they think it means chosen to go to heaven, well, then the Jews never were God’s chosen people in that sense. God never mentioned heaven to them at all. He didn’t promise them heaven. He promised them that through their seed, the nations will be blessed. This is an earthly mission, and they accomplished it. Do they have a further mission? Well, if they do, it’s not in the Bible. So I’d be reluctant to say they’re still God’s chosen people because someone might say, what are they chosen for? Then I’d be in a pickle. Because I don’t have any scripture to answer that question. Therefore, I’m going to say I don’t think they are. I appreciate your call. I hope that’s helpful to you. We have to take a break at this point. It’s a hard break at the bottom of the hour, only about a minute long. But we need to let you know that The Narrow Path is listener supported. You can write to us at The Narrow Path, P.O. Box 1730, Temecula, California. 92593. Or you can donate or just take everything free from our website, thenarrowpath.com. I’ll be back in 30 seconds. We have another half hour. Don’t go away.
SPEAKER 09 :
Small is the gate and narrow is the path that leads to life. We’re proud to welcome you to The Narrow Path with Steve Gregg. Steve has nothing to sell you today but everything to give you. When today’s radio show is over, we invite you to visit thenarrowpath.com. where you’ll find topical audio teachings, blog articles, verse-by-verse teachings, and the archives of all the radio shows. Study, learn, and enjoy. We thank you for supporting the listener-supported Narrow Path with Steve Gregg.
SPEAKER 07 :
Welcome back to the Narrow Path radio broadcast. My name is Steve Gregg, and we’re live for another half hour, taking your calls. If you have questions about the Bible, the Christian faith, a difference of opinion with the host, you want to bring that up, feel free. Let’s talk. The number to call is 844-484-5737. That’s 844-484-5737. We have some lines open, so call now and you’ll probably get on the air today. All right, let’s talk to Sean from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Hi, Sean. Welcome. Hi.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, Steve, I just want to let you know, man, I really appreciate you. Man, you’ve made such a difference in my understanding of the Scriptures that I’m just buying your books and just going through your lectures. I could go on and on, but I won’t ask my questions to you, okay?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, thank you for those comments.
SPEAKER 03 :
Go ahead. Matthew 13, once again, Kingdom of God, the parable of the wheat and the tares. We see Jesus’ explanation of it. He talks about how it is that the field is the world. The good deeds of the sons of the kingdom, the terrors of the sons of the wicked one. In the end of time, or on the last day, the son of man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, those that practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire, where they’ll be wailing in nationality. I believe that’s the last day, and I believe that’s what you teach as well. My question is, people here see that, oh, he’s going to gather them out of his kingdom, not out of the world. So they’re saying, oh, this is a parable about the church. It’s not about the world. It’s him coming back to clean out his church because he’s gathering it out of his kingdom. How would you sort of explain that, his kingdom in relationship to the world?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, they’re assuming there’s a different geographical location of the kingdom. then the world itself. It is the world that is his kingdom. It is, I mean, not the, I mean, the planet Earth is the venue of his kingdom. That’s, you know, the field is said to be the world. So we know that the field is not the church. I mean, there’s very few parables where Jesus lays out every detail and says, this means this, this means that, this means this, so that we know exactly what he means. And he said, in this case, the field is the world. Okay, now, the good seed are the children of the kingdom, which means they are members of the kingdom. They’re part of the kingdom. The kingdom is in this world. And it’s not of this world, of course, but it’s in it. Just like Jesus said, I’m not of this world, but he was certainly in it. In fact, he told his disciples, you’re not of this world, but they were in the world. So the kingdom, when he said, my kingdom is not of this world, some people mistakenly think he’s saying it’s not in the world. Where else would it be? I mean, Jesus said, we’re supposed to pray your kingdom come, not come. may we go away to your kingdom. We say, your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. So the kingdom is, the venue for the kingdom is on earth. In Daniel chapter 2, where Nebuchadnezzar’s dream had this little stone striking the image in the feet, which represented the four empires from Daniel’s time until the coming of Christ, first coming. The little stone was, grew into a great mountain to fill the whole earth. It wasn’t somewhere in the sky. It was on the planet. And the kingdom, it says that’s the kingdom. In the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom, which will never be destroyed. It will consume all these kingdoms and grind them in pieces and so forth. So it’s an earthly venue. Now, the field is the world, the planet earth in this case, as opposed to, say, the world contrasted from the church, as sometimes different passages use the word world differently. But in the world, there are children of the kingdom. That means agents, you know, participants, those who are born again into the kingdom of God. But there’s also people who are not. The tares are the children of the evil one. Jesus identified his enemies as children of the devil. 1 John chapter 3 says, whoever does evil is a child of the devil. So, The devil has his children. And in this world, there’s both children of God and children of the devil. There’s the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan in conflict.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, at the end, are they being gathered out of his kingdom? No, that’s the phrase that I’m wrestling with here. It says that when he comes back, they’ll be gathered out of his kingdom. As if that kingdom is separate from the kingdom of God, but more of the earth.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, the earth, you know, I believe that at the end of the world, the whole world will have been evangelized. Not all will have been converted. But basically, the kingdoms of this earth are to become the kingdoms of our Lord, of this Christ, it says in the Bible. But that doesn’t mean everybody should be converted. The gospel of the kingdom has gone out into all the world. and has beachheads everywhere. Every nation has many beachheads of the kingdom, many churches, and it’s spreading. And it’s spreading faster than any other movement in the world. And it has been for 2,000 years, really. But the thing is that this is where his kingdom is. But among us, there are the children of the devil. Now, I guess someone’s trying to say these children of the devil are in the church. Well, no, they’re not in the church. They might be in the church buildings. I mean, there might be institutional churches that are populated partially by children of the devil, certainly. But the body of Christ doesn’t have any children of the devil in it. And the body of Christ is made up of those who are, you know, they acknowledge Christ as king. Now, there are people who are in his kingdom. Well, let’s just put it this way. His kingdom is the realm over which he rightfully reigns. That’s his kingdom. That’s all heaven and earth, in a sense. because he’s given authority over all heaven and all the earth. Now, the world, therefore, in a sense, is his domain. And therefore, he’s the rightful king. It’s just that usually when the kingdom of God is referred to, it’s referring to those who are willingly submitted to him and acknowledge him as their king. But whether people acknowledge him as their king or not, they’re still under his authority. They’re just rebels. They’re just rebels under his kingdom. There’s a sense in which every place that Christ rightfully reigns can be called his kingdom. And the world is part of that. But I think what it’s saying is by the time of the end, the kingdom of God will have so saturated the world that the removal of the wicked will not be like some Christians expect the church to be removed from this planet, from the wicked world. Rather, The wicked will be removed from a world that’s become more Christ’s kingdom. You know, it is his kingdom now. It has been for 2,000 years since he ascended and sat down at the right hand of God. Every knee should bow and every tongue should confess to him. So he’s the king. But, yeah, I mean, if they’re saying that the kingdom here means the visible church or something like that, Well, you know, probably a lot of people who are in the visible church will be plucked out along with the others. Maybe what he is saying is there will be people who never were converted and there’s people who pretend to be converted. But the earth is his. I mean, it says that in Scripture, the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, Psalm 24. So, I mean, the wording doesn’t bother me. It apparently is stumbling them. But what we see is saying they’re removed from the world because Jesus said the field is the world. And to say they’re removed from the kingdom, I guess we’d have to equate the kingdom with the world at that point. You know, that the world, the kingdom of God has so spread and so permeated and so impacted the world. That, who knows, maybe even the unbelievers will be the minority in that case. And so they’re being removed from among us. Because that’s really how Jesus describes it. He talks about how he’ll remove from, when he describes it in verse 49. He says, so it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth and separate the wicked from among the just. It’s like the just are the ones who are permanently there. but the wicked are among them, and they’re removed, and cast them into the furnace of fire, and there’ll be wailing and gnashing of teeth. So I just take that to be, and he says the same thing also in verse 41, 42. I just think that the kingdom is going to be pretty much so successful that it’ll be everywhere in the world, and the wicked will be in that, you know, among them. And they’ll be plucked out from among them in the world. But that doesn’t mean that the wicked were part of the church or that they had surrendered to the king. If they had, they wouldn’t be removed. That’s just the point. The people who are described are not part of the church. So I’m not really sure how someone could make that point. You know, well, I guess what they’re saying is we need to let the – that we have to let the wheat and the tares grow together there and don’t practice any church discipline at all, as Jesus commanded us to do and Paul commanded us to do. But we don’t practice church discipline because that’s removing the tares from the church. No, we’re told we’re not going to remove the tares from the world. The field is the world. So when Jesus comes back, I think this suggests strongly that his kingdom will be kind of the dominant identity of Israel. of the world at the time because of Christ’s, you know, impact on the world. But that there’s still wicked among them that have to be removed because they’re still in rebellion. That’s the best I know to describe that.
SPEAKER 03 :
Steve, thank you very much. I really appreciate you. God bless you. And, man, I’m thankful for you.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. Well, Sean, I appreciate your call. God bless you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes. Bye now.
SPEAKER 06 :
thanks for your call all right let’s talk to uh it’s going to be fred in alameda california fred welcome to the narrow path yes uh thanks um in psalm 35 chapter 35 verse 17 to be specific um is david referring to god as his dear one what does the word darling mean in that context
SPEAKER 07 :
The word darling, it’s a strange term to use, but he’s referring to his own soul, his own life, which he cherishes, is really what he’s saying. He says, for without cause, we’re talking about Psalm 35, 7.
SPEAKER 06 :
17, I believe. Oh, 17.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, yeah. Yeah, he says, Lord, how long will you look on rescue me from their destructions? My precious life from the lions. Now, see, the new King James says my precious life. The King James says my darling, I guess. But, yeah, he’s talking about his own life. He’s talking about how his life is in danger. And his life is precious to him. It’s his darling, you know. And, you know, it’s a strange word to use, but he’s clearly talking about his life. He’s seeking to have saved from the danger he’s in.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, yeah, that helps. I never would have guessed that. I’m glad I called.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah. Are you reading the King James?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I have a King James.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I used to use King James all the time, too. I didn’t even know that New King James had changed it to this. But they’re trying to make it clear what he’s referring to, because it is a bizarre statement, you know. my darling, save my darling. Well, who’s she? Well, he needs his own soul, his own life.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay, well, thank you, and have a good weekend.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, Fred, you too. God bless. All right, let’s talk to Anthony from Huntington Beach, California. Hi, Anthony. Thanks for waiting.
SPEAKER 02 :
Hey, Steve, hi. I was reading in Genesis this week, and a couple of situations in the creation story have me wondering So when God says, God says, let there be light. And in fact, in the Hebrew, it’s more imperative. It’s more of a command. It says, light be. So for three days, there’s day and night, but the sun isn’t created till the fourth day. So I was wondering, what was that light for three days when the sun wasn’t even there till the fourth day? And then how would Adam and Eve relate? understand the warning of lest you die when they had no reference of death. They hadn’t seen death. They didn’t even know what death was. So I was wondering those two things. And I’ll take your answer off the air.
SPEAKER 07 :
I think I would answer the first by appeal to Revelation chapter 21 where the new Jerusalem is likened to the unfallen creation in Genesis 1. It’s not in every way alike. because it’s a city, whereas there were no cities yet in Genesis, but eventually there were a lot of people. And now the New Jerusalem is like the unfallen world. So in chapter 22, for example, describes this, there’s no more curse. We read that the city in Revelation 21-23 had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. and the Lamb is its light. Now, that’s an interesting thing. I don’t know in what sense the glory of God is the illumination of the city, but because of it, the sun and the moon are unnecessary there. Now, apparently the sun and the moon were unnecessary for the first three days because there was light from God himself provided. And obviously he’s apparently sending his light from one direction on the world so that the other side of the world is dark But the world is turning, so there’s succession of day and night right from the very beginning. But all you need for there to be day and light is for there to be a light source. And when God said, light be, or let there be light, he must have just shed light for himself upon it until he created the greater light, it says, to give light on the day, or to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night on the fourth day. So I think that the reason God did that, I mean, why wouldn’t he just make sun and moon right at the beginning? Obviously, he wants there to be day and night right from day one. Why not just make the sun and the moon first? I think it may have been for the purpose of refuting the idea that all pagans had, that they saw the sun and moon as gods of a sort themselves, and the sun as the greatest of the gods themselves. Like the Egyptians had Ra, the sun god, and Helios, I think, was a Greek god of the sun. But you’ve got the pagans always worshiping the sun because it was seen as the source of life. Now, what the creation story points out is the sun is not the source of life. It’s not even a god. It’s just a light bearer. God provided light before the sun even existed. And therefore, to give the sun some kind of status as the source of life is ridiculous because even the plants were made on day three, which is before the sun was made. But it was not before there was light. You know, plants don’t need sunlight to grow. They can grow under artificial light. Any light will do. But if God was providing a light from himself, then, of course, that would be adequate for plants to grow. But they didn’t have to do it for long because he made the sun and the moon then to give light on the earth. And he kind of delegated the light-bearing functions to the sun and the moon. Now, I believe that this really happened, but I also believe it has symbolic value. I think God does things for a purpose the way he does them. And I think one purpose here may have been to underscore the fact that the pagans are quite mistaken in seeing the sun as the source of life. Certainly the sun was not the source of life. There was life before the sun itself was created. Now, you asked, what did it mean to Adam and Eve when God told them in Genesis chapter 2 that if they eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the day they eat of it, they will surely die? What did they know about death? I don’t know what they knew about death. If we say, how would they know the meaning of the word death? I’d actually, how did they know the meaning of any words? They were just created from the dust, and God was talking to them, and they could talk back to him. Obviously, language was built in to them. Now, obviously, if they could only use words that describe things that they already had experienced, then they’d be very limited in what they could say. But it seems to me that God, just as he created man already with the capacity for language, which, by the way, animals don’t have, He made man, as far as we know, the only creature on Earth with the capacity for language. Yet he probably put the software in there along with the hardware so that there was actually content. They probably had a vocabulary and so forth. Now, could they relate to death? Well, no, but I can’t either. I haven’t died yet, but I pretty much know what it is. Now, of course, I’ve seen people die. But it’s still very mysterious. I mean, I can still talk about death without having a full grasp of what it is. It obviously means the opposite of being alive. And I think that they at least had the frame of reference that they weren’t always alive. There was a time when they weren’t alive. They came into existence. They came alive. Before that, they weren’t alive. And if they die, that means not being alive anymore. I don’t know any other theological, you know, ideas that they may have attached to it. But, you know, the idea that they would not be alive anymore would be what death means. And obviously he expected them to understand that, so they must have had built-in vocabulary as well as built-in capacity to communicate by language. I hope that helps. Let’s talk to… Daniel from Victoria, British Columbia. Hi, Daniel. Welcome. Daniel, are you there? Looks to me like Daniel.
SPEAKER 04 :
Sorry, Steve. I was on mute for a second.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER 04 :
Gotcha. I just wondered, I’ve been watching that Chosen series on TV, YouTube or whatever it was. I’ve been watching it with my wife. Amazon Prime, we watched it on. The passage where Jesus, you know, Matthew 16, 17, can you address that possibly?
SPEAKER 07 :
I didn’t see the movie. You want me to address the passage?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, 16, 17, where Jesus talks to Simon, right, and he renames him Peter, right, and he explains to him, oh, blessed are you, Simon, you know what I mean, that passage? Mm-hmm. I was wondering if you could address that and maybe tell people what Jesus was talking about there. What was he referring to as the rock?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, okay.
SPEAKER 04 :
Jesus was referring to.
SPEAKER 07 :
Sure. Well, yeah, when when Jesus asked the disciples, who do you say that I am? Peter spoke up for them and said, you’re the Messiah, the son of the living God. And Jesus, pleased that he got it right, said to him, blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter. And upon this rock, I will build my church. and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Now, the word Peter, when he said, you are Peter, the word Peter, Petros in the Greek, means rock. Now, the word rock in the Greek is actually a feminine word. It’s Petra. That’s the ordinary word for rock. But, you know, in nicknaming a man rock, like, you know, Dwayne Johnson is nicknamed the rock, you know.
SPEAKER 04 :
You think Jesus was not then? Was Jesus renaming him or nicknaming him?
SPEAKER 07 :
It isn’t a nickname. I mean, Jesus had already called him Peter when he first met him. In John chapter 1, Simon and Jesus met face-to-face for the first time, and Jesus called him Peter then also. So this isn’t the first time. It’s the nickname again. I’m going to call you Peter. But he also still called him Simon. As he did here, Simon Bar-Jonah. He didn’t change his name. His name is still Simon, son of John. That’s what Simon Bar-Jonah means.
SPEAKER 04 :
Was it not the same as God changing Jacob’s name to Israel?
SPEAKER 07 :
Yes, but Jacob was still called Jacob and Israel after that, too. So, I mean, to change his name, I mean, if you get your name legally changed, you know, your name today is Daniel. But if you get it changed to George, then your name isn’t Daniel anymore. No one’s going to call you that anymore. When Jesus gave Jacob the name Israel or gave Simon the name Peter, these were in additions. They weren’t changing names. Jacob was still called Jacob for the rest of his life. And even the nation of Israel is often called Jacob throughout the Bible. Likewise, Peter, you know, his name Peter is the name that Jesus gave him, the nickname. But Simon was still his name. But I think Jesus and the disciples usually called him Peter. Although they spoke Aramaic, which would be Kepha or Cephas, which is the Aramaic for the same thing, for a rock. But the point here is that Jesus did reference him as a rock and said, upon this rock, I’ll build my church. Of course, he took the masculine form of rock since he’s making a name for a man, not a woman. But Petra is also a name, a female name, but it means it’s the ordinary word for rock. So Peter is the masculine rock. And Jesus said, upon this Petra, using the ordinary word, I’ll build my church. Now, you’ve probably heard, as I have, that Petra means a big rock, like a mountain of rock, and Petras means a movable stone. I don’t know that that is true. I don’t know that the Greek lexicons would support that. The idea is that Peter used the masculine form of the name Petra, which would be in Greek Petros. Now, what does it mean? I believe it is basically pointing out that the church will be built upon a rock. Now, is he referring to Peter as the individual rock that it would be built on? The Catholic Church thinks so. I don’t think it would be Peter alone, because Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2, at the end of that chapter, he says that we, the church, are built on the foundation of the apostles, plural, and prophets. Now, Peter was an apostle. So, I mean, it’s like the apostles are the stones, the foundation stones of the church. Peter being one of them. Since Peter’s being spoken to, Jesus said, you’re a rock upon this rock above my church. And presumably he means you and the other apostles, because that’s what the church is built upon. Now, an alternative view is that Jesus is referring to himself as the rock. And that’s not impossible. Peter himself, in 1 Peter chapter 2, refers to us as living stones who are built, you know, he doesn’t say that he’s especially a stone separate from others, but we’re all living stones built up in his spiritual house and that Jesus is the chief cornerstone. Interesting, Peter’s talking about this construction metaphor of the church out of stones. He says all his readers are stones and Jesus is the chief cornerstone, but Peter doesn’t mention himself having any particular unique stoneness or role. So he must not, maybe he didn’t know about that. The Catholic Church hadn’t come along yet to tell him that, I guess. But if Jesus was referring to himself as the rock, which is entirely possible because there are quite a few Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah that call him the rock or the stone, well, then we’d have to maybe assume that when Jesus is speaking to Peter, he’s saying, Peter, you are the rock. But upon this rock, and he might be, we don’t know, but he might have gestured now from Peter to himself, meaning me. Now, upon this rock, I’ll build my church. You’re a rock, but I’m the rock that’s going to be built upon. Or many people, as a Baptist growing up, I always assumed that it meant that Peter’s confession was the rock. That is, Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Christ. And, you know, that could be true. I don’t know that that’s the most intuitive understanding of Jesus’ words in the context, especially since it could be referring to Peter himself, since he, as an apostle, made up, he was one of the stones, one of the rocks upon which the church was built. But the Catholic Church thinks that he was uniquely a rock that the church was built on. There’s nothing in Jesus’ words that would force us to go there. It’s just an idea that the Catholic Church has held for a long time, and they, of course, like to support their traditional ideas. All right, well, we’re out of time for the day and for the week. If you’ve been listening to The Narrow Path, we are listener-supported. You can go to our website if you want to donate. Everything at our website is free, so you don’t have to donate. You can just benefit from it. You can donate from the website, or you can write to us at TheNarrowPath, P.O. Box 1730. Temecula, California, 92593. The website is thenarrowpath.com. Have a good weekend.
